Category: From My Bookshelf

There are lots of books stacked on my bookshelf. When I pick one of them, I dive into the amazing world created by an author as soon as I open the cover. However, there is always “the end” written on the last page of the book. Have you ever felt that you are in the same world with those characters? Witnessing those scenes written on pages in your hand, hearing voices of characters speaking dialogues scripted for them? There are a few books which have taken me in their world. And I must say, they are magnificent. Valentia created by Rajamayyoor Sharma is on top of my head as far as Indian fiction is concerned while James Clavel has taken me to mediaeval Japan. I have roamed around London with Sherlock and Poirot.

And yet, the journey in those realms, started from the cover page, has its end marked. The author takes the characters by hand and takes them to their destination by the end of the book. They fulfil their destiny. If a writer chooses to give happy moments at the end, we enjoy them. If it’s a tragedy, characters at least get closure at the end. Many times, I wish to ask the author if he or she has forgotten to write something for me? What about my destiny at the end? What about my share of the closure? Haven’t you thought about me as an uninvited traveller on this journey when you wrote a book?

Here you will find my reflections on my readings. Hope you will also enjoy these stories as much as I did.

  • An Invitation to Die – Captivating Murder Mystery

    An Invitation to Die – Captivating Murder Mystery

    I have observed that as I approach mid-October, I naturally gravitate towards mystery and thrillers. Maybe this is the motivation I need to keep reading till the end of year. I have mentioned in my earlier posts about how much I love a good mystery or thrillers. They keep me glued to the pages or screen if I am reading them on Kindle. This year, thanks to the Blogchatter’s Book Review Program, I got an opportunity to review a captivating murder mystery written by Tanushree Podder.

    An Invitation to Read

    Harper Collins is famous for their wonderful books and this one surely keeps up to that tradition. An Invitation to Die is the third mystery that Col. Acharya, a local sleuth of Ramsar solves ASP Timothy Thapa. I suppose, I was living under a rock till date. I haven’t read the earlier two books. And yet, Tanushree is successful in grabbing my full attention in this third one. She has done a wonderful job as a storyteller. Plot goes on thickening as you keep turning pages.

    With a lot of mystery reading, you kind of become sleuth yourself. It becomes a curse when your little grey cells start working when you pick up a mystery novel. You start guessing the plot in advance. But hold your horses my fellow sleuths. Podder has lots of twists and turns which will leave you surprised whenever you start guessing the next step. 

    I am eager to go back and grab other books from this series and read them. Tanushree Podder has captured a spot on my favorite authors list with this book. I highly recommend this one to you. I am sure you won’t regret your decision.

    Blurb

    It begins with a simple mystery – elderly widow Violet William’s van goes missing after her granddaughter Pia forgets to lock the door when using it to cater for a wedding reception. But this is Ramsar, and soon, a simple case turns sinister when ASP Timothy Thapa finally finds the missing van, and promptly discovers a dead body inside it. Enter Colonel Acharya, Ramsar’s resident amateur sleuth, with his merry band of bridge-playing Watsons. As the detective begins his investigation, he finds that things are not what they seem, and with few clues, several suspects, and no leads to go on, Colonel Acharya might be facing his most challenging case yet.

    My Ratings

    Story: 4/5
    Writing style: 4/5
    Cover Design: 5/5

    Overall rating: 4.5/5

    About the book

    Book: An Invitation to Die: A Colonel Acharya Mystery
    Author: Tanushree Podder
    Publisher: Harper Collins
    Genre: Crime Fiction
    Pages: 288

    Where to buy

    P.S. This book also marks the completion of my TBR Challenge. I had pledged to read 25 books in the year of 2021.

    This review is powered by the Blogchatter Book Review Program.

  • Eye On You – Chilling Thriller by Kanchana Banerjee

    Eye On You – Chilling Thriller by Kanchana Banerjee

    Good thrillers, crime and investigation are the most engaging stories for me and they are pretty rare to find. But when you find one. You just can’t stop until you reach “The End”. Anita Nair, Salil Desai, Sujata Messi, Vaseem Khan and Abeer Mukherjee are a few names which are setiating our hunger for Indian thrillers. Today I want to add one more name to the list. Kanchana Bannerjee has given us her second crime thriller “Eye On You” and man, it’s a gripping tale.

    My favorites from “Eye On You”

    Eye On You is the story of Myra, a leading sales head of a reputed company and social media influencer on the side. It revolves around the event of her getting raped in her own bedroom without any signs of forced entry in the house, no signs of struggle and no forensic evidence. The story is set in today’s Gurgaon with all of its problems like overcrowding, worsening air quality along with many others. New found glamorous career of being a social influencer plays an important role in the story to take it forward through various plot points. It connects with the reader because of the contemporary settings and events which we read and hear around us.

    The style of writing is fluid and fast paced which makes the book interesting to read. The way of narrating a story with the perspective of different characters takes it to a next level. Grab your copy to enjoy a gripping thriller story.

    Blurb

    You’re seen, tracked, and followed everywhere you go. Every line & picture you post; someone is watching. All that information in the wrong hands is a recipe for disaster.

    You have a smart door, a CCTV; everything is controlled via an app on your mobile phone. All they need to do is to hack into your phone. Anyone can get in, anyone can see you inside your home.

    How safe are you inside your home?

    Myra is a young, independent, single working woman living in Gurgaon. After a party in her home, she wakes up the following morning and discovers that she has been raped. But she was at home, surrounded by her friends.

    Who could have done this to her? Was it one of her friends or a stranger?

    My Rating

    Book Cover: 2/5
    Writing Style: 4/5
    Story: 3/5
    Overall: 3/5

    About the book

    Book: Eye On You
    Author: Kanchana Banerjee
    Publisher: Self Published
    Genre: Crime Fiction
    Pages: 188

    Where to buy

    I’m taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter’s My Friend Alexa. My current ranking is 272,112. This review is powered by Blogchatter Book Review Program.

  • Love (Try) Angle – Novel you should definitely ‘try’

    Love (Try) Angle – Novel you should definitely ‘try’

    One who loves stories, to read, listen or to write, can’t ever refuse their liking to love stories. Even if one puts on a mask of being a snob and rejects young adult love stories labeling them as shallow, indulge in them with a guilty pleasure. Indian English literature saw a new surge in young adult novels in the new millennium. Recently, I came across one of the recent releases of this genre. Love (Try) Angle by Manali Desai. Published in early 2021, Love (Try) Angle is Manali’s latest work. 

    Story is woven around the lives of Ayesha, Viren, and Abhi. Novel begins when Ayesha lands in Mumbai with her parents and begins the new journey. Viren is her neighbour who shows her the ropes and guides her around the new city. On other hand, Ayesha meets Abhi, her college senior in a very dramatic way where they get off on the wrong foot. Beginning with this, the novel hits all the tick marks of a classic romance recipe from getting off on a wrong foot to finding their bearings till “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”. However, the catch is, she has to choose between her first friend in Mumbai, Viren and her frenemy college senior Abhi. You have to grab your copy to know the choices Ayesha makes.

    What I loved:

    One thing which I enjoyed the most is a very different way of telling the story of these three guys. Manali has left the regular narrative way of storytelling while writing this one. Love (Try) Angle unfolds in front of us in the form of a journal or diary entries. Each character talks about what happened with their point of view. 

    “Finding your footing in a new place means getting a chance to explore new sides of your own personality.”

    In each new chapter, the narrator of that chapter begins with such one liners describing the gist of the events unfolding in it. These one-liners are very enticing, they simply pull you in the chapter right away.

    I am sure you definitely want to ‘try’ this humorous and crisp, young adult novel in which the journey is about trying and exploring, then let it be a place called Mumbai or a feeling called Love.

    Blurb

    Ayesha has just moved to the’ City of Dreams’ with her parents. She befriends the charming Viren, who helps her find her footing in Mumbai. Though she is slowly adjusting to her new life, what Ayesha is most excited about is pursuing B.A. (Hons.) Political Science from a reputed college. Things don’t go as smoothly as she had thought though. Because Abhi, her senior, seems hell-bent on making her life on the campus difficult from day one. Just when things seem settled, Viren joins the college as an Ad-Hoc lecturer. Is there more to Ayesha’s friendship with Viren, and her frenemity with Abhi? It seems there’s a love triangle blooming around the corner or will it be a Love (Try) Angle? Because Ayesha is not sure if it’s love at all.

    About the Author

    Manali is a full-time freelance writer and editor cum blogger. Manali runs her blog arusticmind.com on which she shares book reviews, travel experiences, life anecdotes, inspiring human stories, poems, and flash fiction.

    My Rating: ★★★★✰ 

    Published on: 6 March 2021

    Pages: 145

    You can grab your copy from Amazon.


    This review is powered by the Blogchatter Book Review Program. If you want to know more book recommendations from me, then don’t forget to follow my social media accounts and check past reviews here.

  • Misters Kuru – Witty and light-hearted read for fun time

    Misters Kuru – Witty and light-hearted read for fun time

    In 2010 the duo of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman brought Sherlock Holmes to the 21st century and the whole world was awestruck with the results. But what if you bring in the very very old characters of Mahabharata to the land which once they ruled over? Not being reborn and remembering their past incarnations but just thrown in the reality of present day Delhi. Are you intrigued by this idea? Then you are at the right place guys. Misters Kuru: Return to the Mahabharata by Trisha Das is the perfect book for you. 

    Draupadi, Kunti and Amba have been living in Delhi and are well settled in their Kalyug lives. And all of a sudden with a loud bang and a smoke balloon, here come all five of them. Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakul and Sahdevh! Can you imagine the surprise on the faces of these three ladies? What are they doing here on earth leaving their heavenly pleasures behind? What will they do here? Wait, but first, are they just visiting or…?

    Why should you read this?

    I am sure you are also intrigued by these questions. I was, when I first heard about this book. Trisha took care of all of them when she told us this story. Trisha had made it such a page turner with a wry and witty humour spread throughout the book that you have to struggle to put it down if you have some other commitments. If you have some free time, then I can guarantee you a cover-to-cover read. 

    Nothing other than the idea of all these heavenly guys trying their luck on modern-day Delhi was needed to convince me to read this one. Author did such a good job in storytelling that I don’t regret my decision at all. In-fact, I am hoping she continues this story in yet another book in the future and gives us an amazing series.

    So, to know what they do while they are here? will they manage to live in modern day Delhi? And what happens to them when their visit comes to an end, just grab your copies and some munchings.

    Misters Kuru: A Return to Mahabharata

    My rating ★★★★✰ 

    Publisher: HarperCollins India

    Pages: 340

    Published on: 22 April 2021

    You can get your copy here.

    About Author

    Trisha Das is the author of The Mahabharata Re-imagined, The Art of the Television Interview and the internationally acclaimed How to Write a Documentary Script. She has written and directed over forty documentaries in her filmmaking career. Trisha has also won an Indian National Film Award (2005) and was UGA’s ‘International Artist of the year’ (2003).

    This review is powered by the Blogchatter Book Review Program. If you want to know more book recommendations from me, then don’t forget to follow my social media accounts and check past reviews here.

  • Timeless Treasures – Book Review

    Timeless Treasures – Book Review

    India now boasts itself as an IT hub of the world. However, when I was growing up it was a different situation. The book turned page as the name Infosys emerged on the horizon of the “tech” field of India. At the beginning of the new millennium, it had grown to a leading company in the IT world where every IT enthusiast aspired to work at. I remember my engineering days where my fellow students kept looking towards Infy to come for campus interviews. Their Mysore training campus was something they used to lookout for. It had a big clout back then. I am sure that it still carries the same one.

    Why am I remembering all this?

    The reason behind all these memories, I recently came across one fabulous short book set in the Infosys Mysore campus. Timeless Treasure by Padmini Chilappagari is a tale of three college friends who got placed in Infosys through campus placement. The story shows us the glimpses of the famous five-star training campus of Infosys Mysore and all the fun it has. 

    This autobiographical novel is very crisp and short. Padmini entices us with just enough pinch of love and romance and keeps us glued to the screen till we finish the book from cover to cover. I managed to get this one through in just a couple of hours. She has managed to keep it so simple and real that you can’t even guess which part is her real experience and what she has imagined for the story. It won’t surprise me if  we see her novels on the shelves of stores with some amazing publisher’s tag soon!

    Book Blurb:

    “Priya, Myra, and Arjun are three college friends who are hired by the IT giant, Infosys Ltd. For all the college hires of Infosys, it is mandatory to be trained at the Mysore campus for a few months before posted to a job location. Thus, the trio end up on the amazing campus which spans over 350 acres. Read on as the three friends experience good days, bad days and discover life like never before.”

    About Author:

    A software engineer with a passion for reading, writing and blogging, Padmini has grown up reading books. She is inseparable from them. Writing comes as her second love only after reading. She writes to express herself and set her soul free. 

    Timeless Treasures by Padmini Chilappagari

    My rating ★★★★✰ (just one star less from whole five only because it is too short!)

    You can get your copy here. It’s FREE!!!


    Want to know more about my favorite books? Checkout my bookshelf.

  • जिंदगी एक सफर है सुहाना – a Wonderful Hindi Travel Guide Book

    जिंदगी एक सफर है सुहाना – a Wonderful Hindi Travel Guide Book

    Books have a very important place in my life and I love to travel. In the last year, I was fortunate to grab quick trips to nearby places when places opened up between these two COVID waves. But today I am talking about a book which encourages you to travel. Recently while browsing through the library of Blogchatter eBooks, I came across a book by Hitendra Gupta. Titled with a lively old Bollywood number “जिंदगी एक सफर है सुहाना”, it immediately takes you on a road trip. 

    Why should you pick this book up

    Hitendra has described many places in northern India ranging from glorious temples to the natural beauties in North Eastern states of India. He has presented important information about things or places which you should not miss if you happen to visit that particular destination in a very easy to understand Hindi. I have not come across any Hindi travel language book on Blogchatter eBooks library. He gives the best route to reach and best time to visit the destinations at the end of the chapter. This makes it easy for readers to plan their travels accordingly.

    I found this book interesting for a couple of reasons. First highlight was the inclusion of COVID appropriate checklist for travelers during and post pandemic situation. This will definitely come in handy while preparing for our upcoming travels. And next one is the weekend getaway or one day destinations in and around the capital city of our country, Delhi. These weekend get-aways are a very important part of youth from metro cities of India. Have you have recently shifted to Delhi to study or to work? Then, I will definitely recommend you to go through the details of amazing weekend destinations around Delhi described by Hitendra. You will save a lot of world wide web searches while planning your itinerary.

    The only thing which I would have liked more was the visual appeal through the photographs. If there were more photos in the book, it would have helped us readers to create an image of what to expect when we visit the destination.

    Blurb:

    इस ई-बुक से आपको देश के प्रमुख पर्यटक स्थलों के बारे में जानने समझने में आसानी होगी और आप सैर-सपाटे का भरपुर आनंद ले सकेंगे। इस ई-बुक में सैर-सपाटे के बारे में जो जानकारी दी गई हैं, उसे पढ़कर आप सैर का पूरा मजा ले सकेंगे।

    About Author:

    Hitendra Gupta – Travel Blogger, Explorer, Nature- Music Lover, Vegetarian Delhi- Noida

    My rating: ★★★✰✰

    You can get your copy from this link.

    Want to know more about my favorite books? Checkout my bookshelf.